Aaron Griffin
Aaron Griffin was the former CEO of Griffin Imulsion Corporation, and a Stranded leader in Char after the Hammer of Dawn counterattack. He reluctantly assisted Delta Squad when they passed through Char during the Lambent Pandemic. Biography CEO of Griffin Imulsion Griffin began his career in the Imulsion industry by working a decade on a fuel rig, getting familiar with the worst things the job could offer. He later began his own Imulsion company, the Griffin Imulsion Corporation, and worked as the CEO, developing a reputation as being a tough boss, but never losing any men on the job. He was later interviewed by HMT magazine after an explosion at a Lopus Energy refinery outside of Denava. Griffin criticized Lopus Energy as being amateurs, saying they couldn't get the job done right if they were trying to be everyone’s friend. He also stated that every CEO should do what he had done; working on an Imulsion rig and getting to know the workers. Griffin also reasoned that if the company's employees were not afraid of their boss, they were doing it wrong, but they also had be likable enough for them to stay and prevent turnover.Gears of War 3: Act IV: Hang 'em High Stranded Leader Leading Char A little more than a year after Emergence Day, Griffin survived the Hammer of Dawn strikes, with his tower and refinery in the city of Char surviving as well. However, most of his workforce was killed by the strike, and most were turned into ash statues, frozen in the pose they were in when the Hammer had struck. Griffin was outraged at the deaths of his people and led the survivors of Char from his tower, gaining a hatred of the Coalition of Ordered Governments. His people continued to work at the refinery across the crater created by the strike on the city. He used cable cars to connect the towers; they were still able to refine and sell Imulsion without trekking across dangerous land. In time, he grew popular from his ideals and hate for the Coalition, and remained a business man throughout the Locust War. However, he was not popular with all of his employees, some of whom resented him and thought he cared little for their lives, believing that they would be better off with the COG than remain with him.Gears of War 3: Act IV: Crater Shortly after the Lambent began appearing in Char sixteen years after E-Day, the workers of Griffin's other tower gave him an unsatisfactory batch of Imulsion. Griffin sent a letter to Hondo warning him to make the correct grade of Imulsion, or he would go over there and "kick his ass". Unbeknownst to Griffin however, everyone in the other tower was either killed or turned into Formers. Arrival of Delta When Hondo did not reply back and the next Imulsion shipment did not arrive on time, Griffin sent several men, including Miles Carver, to head for the tower. None of the men survived, presumably killed by the Lambent. During this time, Griffin was informed that Gears had arrived into the city. Angered by their presence, he sent Ash Man to stop them, and other men to capture Pvt. Dizzy Wallin, who had been left behind to guard the truck they came in. Unfortunately, Ash Man was unable to drive off the Gears, and they shortly arrived at his tower. The Stranded opened fire on them, until several Lambent Stalks arrived, and they directed their fire on them. After the Lambent were killed, Ash Man came down and brought the Gears to the Tower. When Ash Man brought the Gears into his office, Griffin was angry with him, and ordered him out before he "beat his ass". Griffin then addressed the gears, stating that they had some nerve coming here for some favors. Anya replied that they just wanted some fuel, and Griffin called her a bitch, stating that he did not like how the people responsible for his workers' deaths were disturbing their rest. Marcus then spoke with Griffin, who was familiar with his name. Griffin then asked Marcus if he knew the first rule of business, and Marcus asked Griffin to remind him. Griffin told him that there is always a catch with business agreements, and Marcus wondered if Griffin was setting him up. Griffin snapped his fingers, and two Stranded came in with Dizzy in tow. Griffin then told the squad that he was waiting for a shipment from his refinery tower, but it had never arrived and no one responded. If the Gears brought back the shipment, Griffin would let them keep some of the fuel, and that they had one hour to do so, telling them to use it wisely.Gears of War 3: Act IV: Ashes to Ashes Locust Attack Around an hour later, Griffin Tower came under attack by the Locust, led by Queen Myrrah herself aboard her Tempest. After she blasted the tower a few times, she flew away, leaving the Queen's Guard to finish the attack and kill the survivors. Griffin let Dizzy go, and the two of them became cornered on the roof by the Locust. Dizzy contacted Marcus for help, and they told him they were crossing on the cable car to assist them. By the time the Gears arrived, Griffin and Dizzy were the last two people alive defending the tower. After killing the last of the Locust, Marcus told Griffin that they had gotten his fuel, and that their deal was done. Griffin was angered by this, and lashed out at him, saying that all of his people were dead and pointing out how they had survived the Hammer strikes, Locust attacks, and the rest of the war, but then the Gears showed up and he lost everybody. He raged against the COG, declaring that everywhere they went, all they did was spread pain, death, and misery, and called them all 'piece of shit motherfuckers'. This finally pushed Marcus over the edge, and he began yelling at Griffin that he had just lost his brother, and that Griffin, his tower, and his Imulsion could all go to hell. Griffin backed off, saying he and Marcus would settle the dispute another time. Griffin then boarded his cable car and left the tower, flipping Marcus off as his cable car headed for the refinery. It is unknown what happens to Griffin after these events. Personality and Traits Even before Emergence Day, Griffin was a hardnosed businessman with a coarse mouth. He considered his employees and workforce as family, but led them through fear. As he put it, his love was tough. Griffin also cared to exhibit his wealth in a world gone to ruin, as evidenced by the armory of gold-plated weapons he kept in his officeAs can be seen in Griffin's introductory cutscene in Gears of War 3: Act IV: Chapter 1: Ashes to Ashes. The Hammer of Dawn Counterattack made him an even harder man. He had no scruples against taking captives to ensure Gear cooperation, and remained unfazed by the threats of Marcus Fenix, a Gear remarked for his intimidating presence"when Marcus made a suggestion, even civvies took it as an order. It was the gravel voice and the steady blue stare, Dom thought, the weird combination of looking like a hard bastard while sounding like a guy you could always rely on" (Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, pg. 183-184, Soft Cover) / "it was actually Marcus who silenced them. He walked in behind Gavriel, and the noise level dropped as if someone had turned down a volume control. He cleared a path without even trying. A teenage boy—fifteen, perhaps—turned idly to see what was behind him, and the expression on his face when he saw Marcus was pure animal fear, instant and undisguised . . . Anya had to remember that any Gear was an intimidating sight for civilians not used to them . . . but Marcus projected something beyond that. It wasn't just dominant body language. It was a kind of angry weariness. It made people shut up and listen" (Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, pg. 249-250, Soft Cover)., even later when the Gear exploded in a cathartic moment of uninhibited anger. Behind the scenes concept artwork.]] *Aaron Griffin was voiced by Ice-T in Gears of War 3.Gears of War 3 credits *The gold knuckle plate on his left hand reads "DRAMA", a reference to Ice-T's song Drama. *Griffin has a broken clock around his neck which is stuck at "6am", this is a reference to another one of Ice-T's songs called 6 'N the Morning.Polycount Artdump *Griffin's clothing design is a deliberate combination of COG and Stranded visual cues.The Art of Gears of War 3 page 221 *While Griffin is talking to Delta Squad, golden weapons can be seen hanging on the wall in his office. *Early concept artwork for Gears of War: Ultimate Edition shows that some of the levels would've had wanted posters of Griffin littering the walls. However this idea never made it into the final release, leaving the walls barren. Multiplayer *Griffin is available as a multiplayer character in Gears of War 3; to unlock him, players can either "like" the official Gears of War fan page on Facebook or earn the "Big Money" onyx Medal in Horde 2.0. *Griffin is one of the "heroes" who can appear in Beast mode and always comes equipped with a Sawed-Off Shotgun and Boltok Pistol. *Griffin can be unlocked in Gears of War: Ultimate Edition multiplayer by purchasing the Deluxe Edition of the game.Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Appearances *''RAAM's Shadow'' *''Gears of War: Ultimate Edition'' *''Gears of War 3'' *''Gears of War 4'' Links *How to unlock Aaron Griffin References Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Stranded